Heat rose inside me.
I wanted to touch him, to kiss him, to pull him into the bedroom – but stopped myself.
Now was a really bad time.
“So why don’t you just set your mind that you’re going to beat Miranda and your parents?”
He was silent for a few seconds. Then, finally, he said, “Because it’s conflicting with something else I want.”
“Which is… ?”
“Keeping you safe.”
I almost cried when he said that.
But then I pulled back and looked him square in the eye. “I don’t want you to worry about that. This is more important than me.”
“You say that now…”
He trailed off.
The unspoken end to that sentence frightened me, so I leaned back into him, and he encircled me with his arms.
We didn’t say much more until Johnny finally got back.
7
The penthouse door opened and in burst Sebastian.
“Oh my GOD, I left LA thinking I was coming to a party, and here I walk into a funeral.”
He wasn’t what I’d been expecting. I don’t know what I’d been expecting, exactly – Stanford from Sex And The City? Jack from Will And Grace? Neil Patrick Harris without the Barney womanizer schtick?
I certainly wasn’t expecting a six-foot-five guy with an unruly mop of platinum blonde hair that looked like a salon had spent two hours making him look like he’d just rolled out of bed. He wore top-dollar blue jeans, bomb-ass suede Italian loafers, a lavender t-shirt under a sports jacket, and a beautiful silk scarf knotted casually around his neck.
I just goggled up at him. It was Sebastian’s voice coming out of a good-looking, impossibly tall beanpole… but it just didn’t fit. Very disconcerting.
Connor smiled grimly at his assistant. “Thanks for coming.”
“You see? What did I tell you? I go on vacation, it all falls apart.” Then Sebastian’s eyes trailed over to me, and he feigned excitement as he clapped his hands together. “Ohhh, yaaay, our very own little Whore of Babylon!”
“Hey,” I snapped, not in the mood – and not happy to hear the word ‘whore’ thrown around so casually, especially in reference to me.
“You’re here to make things better,” Connor warned him, “not worse.”
“Oh, excuse me, I was under the impression that that’s exactly how Miranda is planning to paint her on the news, the internet, and children’s Saturday morning TV shows. Am I wrong?”
“You know? Already?” I asked, terror rising up inside me. I imagined the news was on the radio at this very moment, that he had heard it on the drive over –
“Johnny already briefed me on the basics,” Sebasian said.
I relaxed a little bit, knowing that Miranda hadn’t destroyed my reputation yet.
‘Yet’ being the operative word.
What scared me a little was how panicked I’d been to think it had already started.
Sebastian turned back towards the open door. “Where is Johnny? He’s got my things. And I have someone I need you to meet before we turn entirely to business. Ah, here they are.”
Someone else walked into the penthouse.
Javier, I presumed.
Again, not what I was expecting.
From Sebastian’s earlier comments – I am having Mai Tai’s by the most delightful swimming pool with the most handsome man in California – I was expecting a young Antonio Banderas. And, considering how Sebastian was, kind of flaming.
Not so much.
Javier was short – much shorter than Sebastian, probably about 5’ 5”. His skin was medium brown. He was dressed only in a formfitting black t-shirt, black dress pants, and swanky black shoes. He had an impeccably trimmed goatee, and his long hair was slicked back and pulled into a short ponytail. He had big, soft brown eyes and a friendly smile. He was carrying a heavy bag in each hand, which showed off his gym-worthy muscles. He was nice-looking in a very ordinary way – but he was definitely not the ‘most handsome man in California.’
I liked him immediately.
And I liked Sebastian even more for liking him – especially when I saw the look in Sebastian’s eyes. He was obviously smitten.
It was so cute.
“Javier, this is my boss, whose clueless ass I came to save,” Sebastian said, gesturing to us on the couch.
Connor darted a scornful look at Sebastian as he got up off the couch and extended his arm.
Javier dropped his bags, leaned in, and shook Connor’s hand. “Very nice to meet you,” he said in a mellow voice, with just the faintest hint of a Hispanic accent.
“Same here. I’m sorry to disturb your vacation.”
Javier smiled. “It’s alright. Sebastian cares about you very much.”
“Really?” Connor grinned. “You should tell him to demonstrate it in a less insulting manner.”
“Impossible, I’m afraid,” Javier shrugged.
“Excuse me, I’m here, aren’t I?” Sebastian huffed. “That’s demonstration enough. And you,” he said, tapping Javier’s nose, “giving away all my secrets…”
Johnny came in carrying not only a giant bag in each hand, but a smaller one under each arm. “Damn, Sebastian, how much crap did you bring?”
“Oh, hush. Javier, this is Lily. She’s the cause of all our current problems.”
“Sebastian,” Connor warned.
“Oh, I forgot, it’s not Lily, it’s your dick,” Sebastian said, as though suddenly remembering. “And your inability to keep it in your pants the last few days. You’re celibate for eight months, during which time I beg you to get a little action, and now you’re just whippin’ it out in public – ”
“SEBASTIAN,” Connor snapped.
“Sorry, it’s the Mai Tai’s talking,” Sebastian said, not sorry at all.
I was grinning ear to ear as I got up from the couch. Despite Sebastian’s abrasiveness towards me, it was nice to see Connor get picked on occasionally.
And to be reminded that he hadn’t slept with anyone else besides me for eight months.
That was always nice to hear.
Javier leaned over and shook my hand. “Don’t worry, Bastian is only mean to the people he likes,” he whispered.
‘Bastian’… how cute!
“Is he mean to you?” I whispered back.
“No, because I love HIM,” Sebastian announced loudly, then put his hand to his mouth. “Oh my God, it really is the Mai Tai’s.”
Javier grinned as he winked at me. “One day he will be mean. When he gets tired of me.”
“Never happen. But… and I hate to ask you this…” Sebastian winced. “…would you mind going out for awhile? We have to discuss some fairly touchy things…”
“Not at all,” Javier smiled, and turned around to Connor and me. “It was very nice to meet you. Johnny, a pleasure.”
Johnny shook his hand, and Connor and I murmured our goodbyes.
“I’ll call you when we’re finished,” Sebastian said as he walked him to the door, then had to lean waaaay over to give him a quick peck on the lips before Javier slipped quietly out of the penthouse.
Sebastian shut the door, and suddenly he was all business.
“All right, tell me exactly what that bitch said.”
8
It took about fifteen minutes, but Connor briefed Sebastian on the entire situation – land deal, solar company, politicians, blackmail, the works.
Sebastian sat on a couch opposite us, scrolling through the pictures on the iPad’s cracked screen. “Wonderful impulse control, Connor.”
“I was angry,” Connor retorted.
“I meant the photos, not the iPad. But now that you mention it, remind me not to make you angry,” Sebastian said as he tossed the tablet to the side. “Well… what do you want to do?”
“I want to hire a hitman to take out the lot of them,” Connor growled.
Sebastian shrugged. “I can make a couple of calls.”
&nb
sp; “SEBASTIAN!” I cried out.
Connor looked up into the air. “Um, NSA, CIA, FBI? That was a joke. No hitmen are going to be called.”
“Well, I could,” Sebastian said, then sneered, “I hate that bitch.”
“You keep saying ‘bitch,’ singular, like Miranda’s the only one behind it,” I pointed out.
“While I’m sure the other bitch – excuse my language, Connor, I know how much you love and revere Lenora – went along with the plan willingly, as did your asshole father and spineless brother… this has ‘Miranda’ all over it.” He looked at Connor. “I always told you that woman was no damn good, didn’t I?”
“Yes,” Connor groaned, like he’d heard this particular ‘I told you so’ a couple of thousand times before.
“As much as I hate them, your father and mother are a bit too prim to hire someone to follow you around and get photos of incriminating nookie. And Vincent’s not smart enough to pull it off. Which raises the question – how did she know where to find you? They had to have been tailing you… unless they just stumbled across you while you were ‘doing it’ behind every dumpster in Vegas.”
“EWW,” I said pointedly.
“Don’t look at me, darling,” Sebastian said with one hand clasped to his chest. “I keep it classy – and indoors.”
I sighed. “I guess Miranda could have followed me when she came up to me at the Venetian…”
“Whoa, whoa, WHOA,” Connor said. He scooted backwards a foot and looked at me in shock.
Sebastian and Johnny stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
“…oh… I guess I forgot to mention it,” I said meekly. “She came up to me at the Venetian.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Connor said angrily.
“I didn’t know who she was!” I protested. “I thought she was just some chick who liked my dress!”
“Johnny, was Miranda dressed the way she normally does?” Sebastian asked.
“Yeah.”
Sebastian looked at me from head to toe. “And you were wearing this when you saw her?”
“Yeah, so?” I asked defensively.
Sebastian held up a single finger. “So that should have been your first clue something was wrong.”
“I looked better before I got all hot and sweaty,” I snapped.
“Aah! Aah!” Sebastian said, wincing and waving me away like I’d offered to show him my lady parts. “Don’t want to hear about it.”
“Well, actually, if you must know, I thought she was hitting on me.”
“…reeeally,” Connor said, his eyes widening. His tone was a whole lot more… mellow and accommodating.
I could almost hear the porn music playing in his head: bow chikka BOW BOW.
Now it was my turn to get angry. “Are you actually thinking about me and her together?!”
“Well…” Connor said, with the tiniest of shrugs.
“Oh God, PLEASE, make it stop,” Sebastian said as he put his head in his hand.
“That’s so – UGH!” I fumed.
Connor looked over at Johnny like, Hey, come on – RIGHT?
In silent ‘bro-speak,’ Johnny shrugged and grinned like, Yeah, that would be pretty awesome.
“That’s DISGUSTING,” I snapped, then looked hurriedly over at Sebastian. “Not because it’s two women, that’s fine, I just – ”
“No, I agree with you on this one, IT’S DISGUSTING,” Sebastian said, staring down Connor. “We have enough problems with Miranda trying to destroy you and Lily, please keep your See You Next Tuesday ex out of your private little fantasies. Because that’s just twisted.”
“Thank you,” I said to Sebastian.
“Don’t even,” Sebastian said, eyes half-closed, waving me off like I shouldn’t have to thank him for saying what was so patently obvious.
Connor threw his hands up in the air. “I’m a guy,” he protested, like that was some sort of excuse.
“Yes: a stupid straight guy. Which is why you’re in this mess,” Sebastian snapped. “So – wait. Wait, wait, wait. Lily – did she give you anything?”
I paused. “What do you mean?”
“Did she give you anything like an electronics device, or – ”
“No, she just stopped by my table and made chitchat for a minute.” As I recalled what she’d said, I closed my eyes in pain. “Oh my God, she kept asking about my boyfriend and if we were together in Vegas…”
My eyes snapped open and I looked over at Connor in panic. “Not that I – you know, I wasn’t assuming – that we’re – she was the one that said ‘boyfriend’ – ”
Sebastian snapped his fingers twice. “Lily. Focus. You can have the DTR talk later.”
“DTR?”
“‘Determine the Relationship.’ Could she have put anything on you, or inside your purse?”
“No, I don’t…”
I trailed off as I recalled where Miranda had been standing.
“…oh my God,” I murmured. “My purse. My purse was on the chair next to me… and she was standing next to it…”
“Bring it to me,” Sebastian commanded. “Now.”
9
Sebastian dragged a glass coffee table over between us, and I put the purse on top of it. Johnny came out of his bedroom with a small briefcase, opened it up, and produced a metal rod that looked like something TSA agents wand you down with at the airport.
He held it over the purse, and it gave out an electronic squelch.
“What does that mean?” I asked, alarmed.
“Nothing good,” Johnny growled. “Dump it out.”
Sebastian upended the purse and spilled the contents over the coffee table. Johnny wanded the empty purse, which was now quiet, and then started examining my cell phone, my wallet, my makeup case –
“That,” I said, my stomach turning as I pointed my finger. “I don’t… that’s not mine.”
It was a black plastic pen, the kind you might buy at Office Depot for 79 cents. Shiny clicker at the top, and a metal clip to pin it to a pile of papers.
Johnny wanded it.
SQUUEEEELLLCCCH.
My stomach dropped.
He unscrewed the plastic halves of the pen and shook them.
A small strip of metal with a miniature circuit board fell out on the glass.
“Oh shit,” I whispered.
“GPS unit,” Johnny said as he picked it up and inspected it.
“Microphone?” Connor asked.
“I don’t think so,” Johnny said, then dropped it on the floor and crushed it under his heel. “Especially not now.”
“Well, that’s one mystery solved,” Sebastian said. “Miranda probably had two photographers following you around with the tracker. As soon as they saw where you went, one stayed at ground level, and the other one broke into a nearby room when you – wait. Didn’t you say they were waiting in here for you? Your parents? With four bodyguards?”
“Yes,” Connor said, then closed his eyes in pain. “SHIT.”
Johnny and Sebastian both looked around in panic.
“What?” I asked.
“They might have bugged the room,” Connor said, standing up, his face furious. “Johnny, tear this place apart if you have to – no, forget it, there’s no telling where they put it. Just check out every piece of luggage, every article of clothing we own. Sebastian, call down and get us new rooms now.”
Sebastian and Johnny both nodded and hopped to.
I stared at Connor. “Are you serious? Isn’t that a little paranoid?”
“Lily, they just blackmailed me and threatened to ruin your life to avoid losing billions of dollars. You think they really wouldn’t bug the room?”
I sucked in my breath, then nodded. “I’ll get my stuff.”
10
We wound up in a suite that wasn’t nearly as palatial as the penthouse, but your ordinary millionaire high roller would have been thrilled to stay there. I suppose for Connor it was merely adequate.
Johnn
y had checked out everything we owned, down to some embarrassing things in my overnight kit. Ever had a man search your emergency tampon stash? No? Not exactly fun.
But he found nothing.
We were safe to continue the discussion.
“What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me about your plans,” Sebastian sniffed.
Connor was pacing back and forth in front of the suite’s picture window – which was considerably smaller than the penthouse’s. “You knew about the solar company. And you knew about the meetings with the politicians, too.”
“I thought that was about opening a casino – you didn’t tell me how it all fit together.”
“I wanted to play this one close to the vest.”
“You told her,” Sebastian said, sounding miffed, like a little boy whose sister had gotten more ice cream than him.
“Yeah, the night before it all clicked into place,” Connor snapped.
“And look what happened.”
“Hey,” I said, slightly wounded. “I didn’t tell anybody.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Connor said, still pacing. “Is there a way out of it?”
“Of course,” Sebastian said, and sprawled back on the sofa. “In fact, I’m shocked you haven’t seen it yet.”
Everyone – including me – stared at him.
“Seen what?” Connor asked.
“Miranda’s plan is to make you the most famous person in America by 8 o’clock Eastern Standard Time tomorrow morning,” Sebastian said. “Correct?”
“I suppose you could say that,” Connor agreed grimly.
“Every media outlet in the country is going to want a piece of you. They’ll be begging for interviews.”
Connor’s anger faded away into complete and total shock. “Jesus, why didn’t I think of that?”
“You’re too close, that’s all,” Sebastian said with a self-satisfied smile.
I raised one hand timidly. “Wait, hold on. I guess I’m a little slow – ”
Sebastian snorted rudely.
“Hey,” I warned him.
“I’m a little lost, too, guys,” Johnny said.
All That He Loves (Volume 2 The Billionaires Seduction) Page 3